This blog began as "The Vegan Investigation" which ran from 02/14-03/14/2011 and my fitness blog. Now it continues as my personal blog for fitness, nutrition and everyday life. I'm never afraid to push limits mentally or physically - some think I'm crazy, others think I'll push myself too hard - but either way, I'll never know my true limits until I push myself past them....Because people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do

Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Hey everyone! How are you all? I'm feeling MUCH better today! I ate right yesterday, got in my kettlebell workout at lunch and rocked my Curves class last night AND dropped 3 lbs of water weight over night! Definitely feelin' good.

Today has been a good day so far. Its end of month at my day job so we've been busy - but it helps make the day go faster. I knocked out Kettlebell Arms & Shoulders today at lunch and feel awesome. Its amazing how heavy that little 10 pounder can get after a while! haha! After work, I've got my 2 After School classes which should be super fun.

So I've been trying to find something challenging to do in the month of February. Last year, I did the Vegan Investigation - which rocked, but I'm trying to think of something else to do this year that will challenge me but not interfere too much with my classes. One of my SparkFriends posted a challenge and I've decided to accept! So for the month of February, I'll be doing the 10,000 Swing Kettlebell Challenge! Woohoo! It should be awesome!

I'm going to need to average 333 swings a day to make this happen, but I'm going to be shooting for 450-500 a day to allow for a rest day or two if necessary. I'm really looking forward to this. The terms of the challenge are simple - just complete 10,000 swings! They can be single arm, double arm, snatch, squat, etc - just get them all done with proper form!

So for the month of February, my current workout split scheme is on hold and I'll pick it back up in March - hopefully with some more strength added to it. Since I'll just be doing swings, I'll be able to use heavier weights than the split workouts. I don't want to go too light and not get any results - but I don't want to go too heavy initially and burn myself out either. I am going to split up sessions over the whole day, so I'm not pushing too hard to knock out 500 at once since I still have all my classes to work around as well. I figure I'm going to bring my 15 pounder to work and leave my 20 pounder at home so I have a heavier weight at each location.

I figure if this whole thing is going well and I'm gaining strength, I'll treat myself to a 30 pounder halfway through the month!! EEP! So excited! I'll be keeping a running tally here of how many swings I've done - I'm really looking forward to completing this challenge! Its going to be tough, but hopefully get some great results!

Monday, January 30, 2012

Okay - rocked out the Chest & Back Kettlebell workout at lunch. Definitely enjoyed it. I did notice that its easier to move the bell this week than it was last week, so if this trend keeps up I'll be bringing in a heavier kettlebell for my workouts next week. YAY for improving weights!

When I was done with this workout - I snapped a pic, just to see. My hair is a wreck and I'm all sweaty - but I tried to focus on the positives I saw today. My arm wasn't fully flexed in this pic, but even partially relaxed, I think I'm getting my definition back. Makes me want to take another pic with my arm fully flexed to see what it looks like. I don't have a bulge on my back where my bra is, my back is looking smooth. My waist/tummy looks even and not pudgy. My butt is definitely looking more lifted - squats are helping that for sure.

Its not much - but its a little confidence booster on this crazy Monday.

Okay - so after all my awesomeness on Friday with my workouts, it all fell apart from there. After work, I went to run a few errands. Got some news I wasn't ready for (nothing major, just wasn't ready to hear it) and it put me in a funk. I went home stressed and cranky and I ate off diet - not necessarily over calories, but off the plan. At that point, it was a downward spiral.

Hubby and I went out to eat on Friday night - since I'd already messed up that day, another meal won't hurt. Then we went home and I was a lazy ass all night. Saturday morning we woke up, grabbed tacos for breakfast (once again, I didn't give a f*ck) and were supposed to meet friends for lunch at 1230. Due to some delays, we didn't get together until almost 230. They live right near a Dairy Queen, so we all decided to just walk over there and grab burgers & ice cream.

Then we split up - boys went computer shopping and me and my friend ran some errands. While we were driving, we drove past THIS:

OMG a WEINERMOBILE!! I haven't seen one since I was a kid, and my friend had NEVER seen one - so needless to say, we went weiner hunting. We flipped a u-turn and hunted down the weiner. It was awesome. We got whistles too!! Wahoo!

After running some more errands, we all came back out to our place (they stayed with us on Saturday) and we all went out to dinner at a local BBQ place. I didn't over eat - but I did have a beer that totally wiped me out. I was SO tired that night after drinking that I passed out around 10! EEP!

Sunday morning, we woke up and went shopping for breakfast foods. We were a little indecisive so we ended up with chocolate chip pancakes, turkey sausage, bacon, biscuits and gravy, eggs & juice...needless to say we fed 4 people with enough to feed an army!

We were so stuffed! And we munched on the leftovers for the rest of the day. It was a total lazy day. We watched Tangled and Cars 2 - the boys played on the computers and we just all vegged out. Overall it was a good day, but I just ate way too much.

I woke up this morning feeling a little junky. Just tired and run down. I don't like this feeling and want to get the strong me back again. I'm sure my workout on lunch will help with this. I talked with the hubby a little bit this morning about it. I can't do 3 days of crap eating anymore, and its really hard when our weekends are surrounded by friends & family & crappy food. Not that I mind the friends & family, but I need to be able to have healthier options available. He completely understands and from now on we will limit ourselves to only one cheat meal a week (which is a big change from 3 days of cheating!)

I'm thinking this will really help out. I want to reach my goals, but I'm slowly starting to realize that I can't do this on my own - which isn't a bad thing. I like having the support of my hubby. I like being able to talk to him about what I'm eating and doing. And I like him being able to do the same with me. Being able to share this with him this time around is going to make the biggest impact. I won't drop weight then gain it back because I'm struggling to keep up with eating out. He and I are doing this together and I'm so happy about that.

I just need to get over my funk today and I'll be alright. Today I have Curves and my kettlebell workout planned for lunch. I'm thinking arms & shoulders will be done today...or chest & back...not sure. I'll decide though. Anyways, hope you all are doing well and I'm looking forward to better food weekends in the future!

OH - in brighter news, I got my information for my Personal Training Re-Certification and I passed! I'm now certified through April of 2014! Yippee!! At least I've got that going for me! haha! Now I need to decide what continuing education courses I want to take. Last time I did the fitness nutrition. This time around I think I'll do a specialty Bosu training and endurance nutrition...that sounds super fun!

Friday, January 27, 2012

So today has been crazy busy, but I still made sure I got my workouts done!

We had a 3 hour offsite meeting today at a hotel just over the highway - maybe a 10 min walk. I overcame my laziness and walked there and back instead of driving! I just put on good tunes and enjoyed myself during the walk! It was awesome!!

Only downside, I was ravenous when I arrived at the meeting so I grabbed a little banana but muffin. It's not according to our diet plan, but I don't think it will kill me.

After the meeting and walking back to the site, I took lunch and rocked out the Arms & Shoulders kettlebell workout - 175 cals burned in 25 mins! Woot! The movements are getting easier so I'm happy I'm getting stronger!! Oh - just a random thing - my butt is looking awesome!!! Yay for squat butt!!!

For my last break today I did my upper back super set - so now my arms are toast!! Weight went up on my lat pull downs so I'm thrilled!! Muscles are growing!!

Thursday, January 26, 2012

Happy Thursday everyone!! Its definitely a good day!! Yesterday, I was still super sore from my previous kettlebell workouts on Monday & Tuesday, but I made it through all my classes well! I was super tired after the third class though and my legs were so sore I was waddling like an old lady! haha! After classes, I went home and hung out with the hubby a little bit and prepped some food for today. We've noticed its MUCH easier to stick with our nutrition plan when we prep food & pack the night before, so this will be our plan from now on.

I slept well last night and this morning noticed a little drop on the scale again. Still not as low as it was last week, but I'm not worried because I started the new strength training plan this week and my muscles have been shot since Monday. Once my body gets used to this new workload, I'll drop the extra fluids I've been retaining. I'm thinking this is a great plan so far and I'm really enjoying it!

Today's workout was Butt & Hips - so lots and lots of squats! I was watching in the mirror and made sure to get parallel every time, if not lower. My legs were totally shaking at the end of the workout! Yippee!!! Today's workout also had rows (performed in a lunge position), shoulder presses, tricep dips and rows (while doing squats!) and some abs stuff - so definitely a total body thrashing as well! Love it! Burned 160 cals in 23 mins!

In other news, we are gonna try to do the Saturday morning classes at Curves again in February! Wahoo!! Not only does that mean an extra workout for me, but it also means an extra $100 a month for us! YAY! Plus, even though the hubby is off on weekends now, he doesn't roll out of bed until 11am anyways - and I'll be home from class by then, so we won't lose out on any time together. When it comes to money, every little bit helps, so $100 can go a long way! So this means that I've gotta flip around my workout schedule a little bit to ensure I get a rest day.

Right now, I'm thinking about keeping my kettlebell workouts on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday & Friday (alternating Upper on Mon & Thurs, Lower on Tuesday & Friday). Which means I'll have cardio from Zumba on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday & Saturday. Friday will only be a Kettlebell day and Sunday will be a full rest day.

I'm thinking this is a nice solid plan that will help me reach my goals. It covers all my classes and ensures I still get my strength training but get a decent amount of rest as well. Also, since I won't be training at home (at least with kettlebells) that means I don't need to buy another set just yet. I can just leave my 10 pounder at work all week and use it for my workouts. I do need to buy some wrist guards for my kettlebells - I've noticed its getting a little painful and it would be nice to have them. Off to Big 5 after work today then!!

OH and a little victory for me - there was a celebration at work...food galore!! I got some lettuce, put a beef patty on top (for hamburgers) and covered it in salsa! Instant lower calorie Taco Salad & MUCH healthier than the Nachos & Chile Dogs they were serving! Go me!

Alrighty, that's about it for me! I hope everyone has a great Thursday! Tomorrow is payday AND I get a bonus check of an extra $360!! Woot!! Definitely good times!!!

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Alrighty - so as planned, knocked out a fabulous 10 min brisk walk on the treadmill followed by a nice stretch out of my legs and my DOMS is already starting to feel better.

I also knocked out a nice little upper back/tricep super-set that I think will stay in my routine on a consistent basis! Arms feel killer, upper back got a nice burn and I'm definitely a happy camper at the moment.

Used the Walk as a Warm Up followed by the static leg stretching15 reps of standing lat pulldowns at 50 lbs (amazing the difference standing makes VS sitting)15 reps of dumbbell pullovers with a 10 lb dumbbell15 reps of standing lat pulldowns at 50 lbs15 reps of dumbbell pullovers with a 10 lb dumbbell15 reps of standing lat pulldowns at 50 lbs15 reps of dumbbell pullovers with a 10 lb dumbbell

So basically 3 sets of each exercise, alternating between the two with no rest in between. Arms were jello after this!

So after multiple strength training workouts over the past few months of NO soreness (refer to previous rants regarding this) - I have been pleasantly sore for the past 2 days! YAY!! I know its silly for me to get excited about DOMS - but its a rarity for me to find something that hits me hard enough to get me sore these days. I'm sold on these kettlebell workouts! And - when it starts getting easier for me, I just increase the weight on the bell and Voila! instantly harder again!

I love how my body responds to good strength training. I'm already noticing the "after burn" effect on my Bugg burns. Yesterday, even though I only went 6,000 steps, I had 3 hours and 28 mins of activity during the day and burned 3,120 calories! EEP! I'm loving this!! I'm also starting to notice positive changes in my arms - I'm getting my muscle bumps back! Woot!

I'm happy and excited about all of this! Because I'm so sore - weight jumped up a pound over night. Not getting frustrated because I understand why this happened. Today, I'm planning on walking on the treadmill for a break then stretching like crazy to help relieve some of this DOMS. I've got my 3 classes today after work - so no kettlebells for me (no matter how much I want to throw them around today!)

I'll get back to my kettlebells on Thursday & Friday of this week - which will give me 4 days of workouts. Definitely happy with that! I'm thinking of starting to alternate Upper/Lower splits. I'm getting an extra bonus from work this Friday - so I'll be picking up another kettlebell this weekend, just so I don't have to lug mine back and forth between work and the house. Initially I was just going to pick up another 10 lb one, but I'm thinking with my usual rate of progression it might be worth it to pick up one that's a little heavier (or one that has adjustable plates so I can gradually increase) - but those ones are more expensive, so I'm not sure about that just yet. There's a set online that has a 10, 15 and 20lb one for $49 with only $1 shipping...that really might be worth it to ensure there's enough room for progression. Definitely lots to ponder

Hope all is well! I'm off for my eventful Wednesday!! I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep tonight. Stayed up too late watching that fabulous State of the Union address last night :-D

I'm looking forward to my classes today and know that I've rocked another great strength training workout. It will be nice to be lazy once I get home tonight!! Bring on the DOMS that I hope is awaiting me tomorrow!!!

OY - this weekend was terrible for food! It was the hubby's birthday weekend, so I didn't expect much good nutrition from it anyways, but it was definitely busier (and crazier!) than I originally imagined! Bad nutrition aside - it was a killer weekend! We had such a blast!

Thursday at work, got a call from my mom - she was in town and wanted to meet for lunch after I was off work. So she and I met at Genghis Grill (a mongolian BBQ place) and had a nice lunch together. I loaded up on seafood & veggies, so that meal wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been. After my class that night, hubby and I went out to dinner at our favorite Brazilian restaurant (where they walk around with meat on sticks! YUM!) We were both surprised when we didn't eat as much as we normally do there - I guess we're just getting used to eating smaller portions, which is never a bad thing!

Friday morning, hubby slept in and I posted some of my Zumba choreo on Spark. We didn't get out of the house until around 2pm and we went to eat at a new burger joint down by the mall. DUDE it was super yummy!!! As a treat, we each got a shake after lunch - hubby got a chocolate one and I got a chocolate-strawberry one! It was killer!! Then hubby decided he wanted to go up to Santa Fe and do some shopping.

We shopped around town and during the process I found out that my credit rating is a whopping 828!!! Wahoo!!! The guy at the store called my credit "INSANE!" haha!! Once again, just a testament to the bad assery that comes with working hard for what you want. I'm super proud of myself!! Next mission - get hubby's credit insane as well! We can do it!

Anyways, we didn't finish with our shopping until around 830 that night - but after that we met up with my mom and her husband for dinner at a killer new restaurant. I had red chile honey glazed ribs with sweet potato fries - OH it was yummy! I also indulged and had me a fabulous 20oz Marble Red ale (a local brewery that this place had on tap!) Once dinner was over, we headed back home (it was late - after 11, which is totally past my bedtime!)

Saturday morning, we met up with hubby's mom for breakfast before heading back up to Santa Fe (we needed to drop off some paperwork). Once that was finished, we headed to the mall and the outlet mall - hubby bought me a fabulous new Nike T-Shirt that says "Endorphin Junkie" on it!! I love it!! Then we met up with a friend of ours for lunch at a local micro-brewery. I had green chile & bacon cheddar mac & cheese...okay slight indulgence here, but it was damn good! Then we drove back to the house for a relaxing night at home - we were so lazy that later that night we ordered chicken wings & cheezy bread because we didn't feel like driving anymore!

Sunday, we met up with hubby's mom & dad for breakfast then headed back home for a lazy day watching football. I picked up some take out for lunch in the afternoon and we had leftovers for dinner. I got lots done that day - converted my kettlebell workouts and put them on my IPOD and iPhone (so I have no excuse not to do them!), transferred a lot of new Zumba music to my IPOD and got the digital copies of all our Blu-Rays transferred to my IPOD & iPhone too (nothing treats boredom like The Expendables on one's phone!)

Anyways - needless to say weight was up a little bit yesterday morning, but I have already dropped 2lbs of water weight today (and hope to drop more tonight too). Even though I was totally feeling lazy, I brought my 10lb kettlebell to work yesterday and knocked out the Arm & Shoulder workout during my lunch break - it was fabulous! My arms were totally shaking by the end of it!! Since its all a total body workout - my legs have a nice lingering soreness today from all the swings and my arms are pleasantly sore as well! Woot! AND on top of that, I had my Curves Zumba class last night which was super fun too!

Not sure if I'm going to do another kettlebell workout today. I'm kinda sore still from yesterday's kettlebell workout - but I'd really like to get used to regular strength training again (at least the kind that gives me DOMS! haha!) I'm toying with the idea of doing the Chest & Back workout on lunch today...I'm thinking this will be a possibility...especially if I take my lunch a little earlier, that way I've got more time to recover before my class at 230 today. Hmmm....decisions decisions....

Alrighty, I think that's enough rambling for me...back on diet, feeling fabulous, hoping to drop more water weight, contemplating whooping my ass again with the bell and looking forward to classes today (I'm rolling out a new song, so that should be fun!) That's about it for me!

Thursday, January 19, 2012

So today is hubby's 30th birthday! Wahoo!!! I really hope he has an amazing day!! We are both working today - but we have a fabulous dinner date planned for tonight and both took tomorrow off work, so we get a 3 day weekend together!! Yippee!!!

Since tonight will likely be a night of indulgences (followed by a crazy weekend of hopefully okay nutrition) - I decided to take measurements and weight this morning. I got proof that some of the weight I put on over the holidays was actually muscle!!! I'm super proud of myself actually!!! 10 lbs of unexpected muscle gains over the holidays is a great accomplishment!!

So how did I do on the weigh in??? I'm officially down 6.8lbs since my first weigh in at the beginning of January. BUT the huge news is that I'm down a total of 12 inches!! I'm a whole FOOT smaller in 19 days!!! Wahoo!!!

This is also a testament to my current eating plan, even though I'm not seeing a lot of scale movement - I'm dropping inches like crazy, which means I'm losing fat and doing something right!! Go me!!! I guess that just reinforces the importance of tracking inches lost as well as scale movement.

Here's a few pics I snapped this morning (the pink top) - I put them next to pics I took only 9 days ago (the brown top) - I'm definitely thinking my pudge lines are going away and I'm looking smaller again! Wahoo! These are the same pair of jeans and it definitely looks like my little muffin is gone again!!

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Okay - so after my killer circuit workout yesterday, I expected some DOMS...some lingering proof that I kicked my own ass yesterday. Alas, its not there!! I have a smidge of DOMS in my chest & pecs from the bench pressing but that's IT!! UGH!!

I know that its a good thing that my body is in such good shape that it can handle that level of workload, but COME ON!! I'm really getting tired of not getting sore after workouts. Its making me not super excited to do those workouts again (reference back to that little strength program I tried a few weeks ago - no DOMS, then the one I did yesterday - no DOMS) I liked the workout I did yesterday, but if I'm not going to feel the effects of it, then what's the point?? It just seems boring and sucks the fun out of it at that rate

Since the full body workouts aren't doing much for me, I'm honestly thinking that I need to start doing splits to keep myself challenged. I got some decent soreness in my legs after my kettlebell workout a few Saturdays ago - nothing major (like I couldn't walk) but a nice little twinge of soreness that let me know changes were happening.

So now this takes me back to my initial thought of bringing my kettlebell to work (or just buying another 10 lb one and leaving it here) and doing those 20 min workouts during my lunch. I can convert the workouts onto my IPOD (or my iPhone for that matter) and knock them out in the gym at work. I think I'll get better results with the kettlebell splits instead of trying to focus so much on the total body knockouts - since its just not happening for me anymore.

Gotta love my body for being as strong as it is...but when I want to feel stronger, its tough when I can't even make myself sore anymore...*grumble*....conversion of the workouts starts tonight and I'll go out and look for a kettlebell tomorrow afternoon once I'm out of work. Looks like I can get one for about $15-$20 so that's not too bad. I'd rather do that than have to worry about lugging mine around from the house to work all the time. Plus, it never hurts to have an extra one hanging around...

I will have to come up with a workout schedule that works for me. For now I'm thinking 4 days a week (Sunday, Monday, Thursday & Friday) or 5 days a week (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday). Considering Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my busiest days so far (and Wednesday is the worst) I'd like to have those be my rest days from strength training and Saturdays be a full rest day with nothing - if my Curves classes for Saturday mornings come back, this will be modified. Since I'm doing splits I don't have to worry as much about overtraining. Maybe for the first few weeks I'll do the 4 day workout split and see how that works. If its going well, I'll add the other day. We'll just have to see

Oh well....enough rambling for me...got my 3 classes today, so I'm being supremely lazy at work. Heading out in the next hour or so to start the second half of my day. Its nice that these kiddos like this program so much - it definitely makes my crazy Wednesdays much easier

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

So yesterday was interesting - I ended up fasting until I got home from work simply because I just wasn't interested in eating (I still felt crappy from the day before) I made it from 330am until 230pm (when I got home). At that point, I figured it would be smart to eat - since I had my Zumba class at Curves last night and I didn't want to risk passing out during it. I made myself some scrambled egg whites with veggies, black beans, turkey sausage and salsa...it was killer!

After eating, I was able to snag a nap for a little bit and it helped me feel SO much better. During my Curves class, the workout felt effortless. I wasn't bogged down - but I was energetic and having a blast (and burned 600 calories in an hour, so that's never a bad thing either!) My foot started acting up a little bit, so I kept it lower impact and managed to make it through class without much of an issue.

Once I got home, I ate some turkey sausage with mustard (don't ask me why, it sounded really good at the time....and it WAS really good! haha) then I relaxed on the couch while hubby and I watched stuff on the DVR. Went to bed around 830pm and slept much better than the night before - so I'm happy about that.

This morning I woke up to around my pre-crap-eating-day weight, which made me happy. I'm only up about 0.8 lbs right now - which really isn't bad. Might see some good progress today and tomorrow.

Today, I just had this OVER excess of energy at work. I had this overwhelming desire to kill myself in the gym (its been a while since I've done that!) Granted, I know I have 2 classes today after work - so I know I couldn't destroy myself too badly - but I wanted to do *something* to get myself moving and help myself feel better.

I took my lunch a little earlier than expected (so I could recover a little longer before class today) and knocked out a killer 20 min circuit workout in the gym at work. I think my arms are gonna be toast tomorrow!

Here's what it looked like - since its the first time I've done this workout, I kept the weights lower on the machines just so that I didn't exhaust myself before the full minute was up...next time I think I can bump them a little higher (I didn't keep counts of exact reps in each segment - but I pushed for over 30 reps within the 60 seconds for each exercise, which totally exhausted my happy muscles!)

I would have liked another 3 minutes of running tacked on to the end of this, just to finish me off fully, but I didn't have the time. Maybe next time, I'll cut the Sit Ups & Crunches down to 1 min each and sprint for 2 minutes at the end. Either way it was a fun little workout.

Anyways, now I'm gonna relax and eat my lunch. I've got 2 schools after work today and that should be super fun. *Fingers crossed* for a nice woosh on the scale for tomorrow morning!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Alrighty - so I figured a few things out. First, my body can totally handle 1 cheat meal a day. Friday and Saturday I went "off diet" in the evenings and still maintained my weight the next morning. I still slept okay, didn't have tummy troubles, and overall felt awesome.

Sunday was a different story. We had friends stay with us on Saturday night, so Sunday morning we all went out to breakfast. I had a burrito, but didn't finish it all. Then the rest of the day went downhill from there. I made pumpkin & chocolate muffins (around 160 cals a piece but I ate a few of them), shared a bag of those pink & white animal sprinkle cookies with my friend, 2 pieces of pizza and 2 servings of homemade tamale casserole (which was SO good!) So overall, I didn't OVER eat excessively - just lots of sugar and sodium. It was all within calorie range - BUT it made my tummy feel like junk last night!

When I went to bed, it took me almost 2 hours before my tummy stopped freaking out enough to get myself comfortable enough to sleep. Then my sleep was junk as well - we fell asleep with the TV on too loud, so I stayed in that "half asleep" mode for most of the night and didn't sleep restfully. I woke up this morning with some water weight stuck on (about 2 lbs) so I've got some catch up to do today and tomorrow before I can get back on the losing streak.

Today, I just have ZERO appetite and given the way I ate yesterday, I'm just allowing myself to I.F. for the moment. I was running late this morning so I didn't have time to pack food anyways. I figure if I get hungry, I'll head over to the cafe and get a plate of eggs & chile, but for now I'm just trying to get myself properly hydrated again. I'm already starting to feel better and hopefully I'll be back to 100% tomorrow morning.

I'm planning on napping once I get home so that I have enough energy to get through my class today. I think from now on, my "off days" will be more like "off meals". My body handled the 1 meal a day much better than the full day. Since this week is hubby's birthday week - we are planning on a few meals out, so this week I'll do the best I can to stay in line except for those meals and see what happens.

Anyways - that's about it. Its amazing how quickly my body adapted to this nutrition and how quickly it fought back when I ate poorly this weekend. Maybe that's another sign this eating plan is right for me.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Yesterday was a fabulous day! I got out of work 3 hours early, ran some errands and came home to rest before my class (make-up from Tuesday) This was my first class at this school and I think it went really well! I'm excited that it seems like each school this semester is going to be really fun!!!

After class, my hubby did the sweetest thing - he asked me out on a date :-P

I know some of you might think this is silly, but the hubby and I really strive to spend some time together each week (especially with me being so busy) So I thought it was a fabulous idea to go out on a date night with him! We decided to have an "off day" dinner - since we'd been doing really well all week. He's down about 14 pounds already (yes 14 pounds in 2 weeks!) and I'm down a little over 6, so this eating plan is working great for us!

Its been a while since we'd just had time to chill and talk - so it was really great to be able to go out. We talked about this eating plan and how easy and effortless it is for us - and that this will probably morph into our new lifestyle eating habits instead of just being a temporary diet. We agreed that its going to be the basis of our nutrition for the rest of our lives and that after the initial 4-6 weeks we're going to start incorporating "other" foods back into our diet if we are wanting them. We've both realized just HOW much money we are saving NOT going out every day (or even every other day). I think after 2 weeks of this, we are both truly seeing the benefit of this fabulous new eating plan and we couldn't be happier!

For some odd reason, we were both craving burgers for dinner - so we went to Red Robin and had a great meal! Hubby wanted chicken wings, so we split an appetizer of those (4 wings each). I ordered my favorite burger, the Bleu Ribbon burger (without the fried onion stuff) - but this time, I ordered it with a turkey burger instead of beef (which was no extra cost either!!) and sweet potato fries instead of normal fries. DAMN it was good, and didn't give me the super heavy feeling that beef burgers usually give me. I think I've found my new fabulous meal there!

After dinner, we decided to go walking around the mall. I got some pumpkin frozen yogurt with dark chocolate chips (OMG YUM!) and hubby decided to splurge and get an M&M blizzard. I stopped in at Zales to get my ring shined up (no loose stones!! YAY!) and we started looking at all the pretty shiny stuff!!! I found this beautiful blue topaz pendant that matched my engagement ring perfectly and to my surprise, the hubby told the store clerk "wrap it up!" Holy cow!! Its not my birthday, its not a holiday, not a special occasion at all - he just bought it for me "just because"!!!

He's just such an amazing man! I can't believe I got so lucky to end up with someone like him!! Here's a picture of my new fabulousness (sorry about the blurry - silly camera phone!) I love it so much!

Anyways, after that - we came home and watched last week's episode of "Once Upon a Time" and a few other shows on the DVR. I passed out around 10 and he stayed up playing video games.

This morning - I fully expected to be up a few pounds (even if it was just water weight). I stepped on the scale and HOLY CRAP I was the SAME weight as I was yesterday morning!!! Down to the ounce!!! NO JUMP AT ALL!!! EEP!!! Gotta love maintaining after an indulgent night!!! I don't feel bloated or yucky either - ring isn't tight at all, I can slip it on and off with ease!! I did a little happy dance in the bathroom!

Today is back "on" the eating plan before our football afternoon tomorrow. Hubby is still sleeping and I've made myself some fabulous eggs for breakfast. Not sure if I'll get a workout in today - for some reason I just feel like curling up on the couch under a blanket (I'm really cold this morning which isn't helping with my laziness)

Anyways, today consists of going grocery shopping and maybe going to see Beauty and the Beast this afternoon. I'm letting the hubby sleep as late as possible - he's had a rough week and the sleep will do him good!

That's about it for me - not much else going on this weekend, and trust me, that's a good thing. Lazy quiet weekends are always appreciated!!! Hope you all have a fabulous one!!

Friday, January 13, 2012

So earlier this morning, I went outside with my coworkers to enjoy the sunshine. I was really startled when I looked down at my shadow and thought to myself "holy cow I look skinny!" There wasn't a single negative thought in my head - just a simple appreciation for how I looked. It was a rare moment of self love - and I sure hope that moments like that continue to happen, because it was amazing! I'll try to take more time to appreciate myself and everything I can do.

On another note, I got out of work early today! WOOT! So I'm now chillin' at home being a lazy ass until my class this afternoon! What a great way to kick off the weekend!!!

Hey peeps! How you all doing on this fabulous Friday?!?! I LOVE Friday the 13th - for some reason there's always this awesome electricity during these days and its just fabulous!! I've been in a killer mood all day - which just makes it even better that its Friday!! :-D

First of all - woohoo for payday!! I'm really happy about it!! For some reason, the past 2 weeks seemed to take FOREVER!! Perhaps its because we paid off the credit card early in the pay period, so it seemed like there was a long time between that and payday. Today begins Day 1 of my new budget - and I'm super stoked. The way I've got it set up, I'll have $300 extra from this check and $125 extra from the next check to throw towards whatever we're paying off at the time. An extra $425 a month will definitely come in handy when it comes to paying off bills - and that's just my checks, not counting anything extra the hubby has to pay things with!! Woot!

In other news, weight has been steady for the past 3 days - but this seems to be the same pattern I experienced last week. It stuck for 3 days then dropped 2lbs overnight. I'm hoping for the same experience this week - it would be nice to be a little lower before our off day on Sunday, but its also nice that I'm maintaining at over 6lbs less than I was before.

I'll be taking measurements on Sunday morning so I can document changes. BUT I know changes are already happening. My tummy is starting to get flatter again and that pooch on the back of my hips (that used to poof out a little over my jeans) is gone - so I know I'm dropping inches as well! Yahoo! Also, I had to tighten the strap on my Bugg yesterday, which means that my arms are starting to trim up again as well.

I've been toying with the idea of using my exercise A.D.D. to my advantage and just doing whatever workout I want to whenever I feel like it. Since I'm so busy, I can't commit to any kind of structured plan without risking overtraining and losing my sanity, and this has been stressing me out for the past few months - because I feel like I'm not accomplishing anything. After weeks of dealing with this internal mental drama I decided to flip this around to my advantage. What if I just did a workout because I *WANT* to (not because I have to) whenever I felt like it. If I want to run, I'll run. If I want to swing some kettlebells, I'll throw them around. If I want to lift, I'll lift. If I want to Bosu, I'll Bosu...With no solid plan - fitness just for the fun of it (gasp!)

PLUS - it will keep my body from becoming stagnant and used to a pattern - if I just pick random workouts every few days (probably more geared to strength training or cross training since I'm already doing a ton of cardio), my body won't be able to get used to anything and it will constantly be challenged (remember that stupid phrase from Tony Horton about "Muscle Confusion" - kind of the same concept on a smaller, more aggressive, more effective scale)

Alright - random A.D.D. moment over - back to my current eating plan, I've been averaging a loss of 3lbs a week. Now - my previously anorexic brain tells me that this isn't quite fast enough, but I'm trying to work on this and be proud of this progress. I have to keep telling myself that 3lbs a week comes to 12 pounds in a month - which is some killer progress. AND this eating plan involves NOT starving myself! haha! I've been really happy with this nutrition plan so far, and it seems to be working well for the hubby too.

I had to tweak it a little bit and not eat too late in the evening - as there's some days when I don't get home until 7pm at night due to classes. I found that when I ate that late - I slept like crap. So this past week, I've eaten most of my calories in the morning, stopped eating between 4 & 5, only drank caffeine first thing in the morning then stuck to water for the rest of the day and started cutting back on the water around 6 or 7 that I've been sleeping more soundly and rarely have to get up to use the restroom in the middle of the night. Of course - more sleep = more energy and more energy + less dependance on caffeine = happy me!

Got one class today after work (a make-up from earlier this week) so that should be fun - then I'm free for the weekend!! My inner Disney freak (okay...I lied...I'm outwardly a Disney freak too...) REALLY wants to go see Beauty and the Beast in 3D this weekend (and we got movie gift cards for Christmas - so this might be a damn good possibility on Saturday!) We've got some great plans for Sunday too - so its shaping up to be an awesome weekend!

A dear friend made us some amazing looking baked goods (homemade brownies, cookies and 2 kinds of muffins!) which will be our indulgence on Sunday morning!! I can't wait for them!! She's an amazing baker, so I know they're going to be incredible! I just need to find the discipline to wait until Sunday to eat them! haha! I've hidden them towards the back of the fridge - out of sight, out of mind....

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Alrighty - so weight is about the same as it was yesterday. Which is good, at least I'm maintaining at this low. Hopefully the maintain is being caused by some water retention (sodium was a little high yesterday so I'm pushing the fluids today and already feeling less bloated) Hopefully I'll see another nice little drop in the scale tomorrow and the day after. We've decided our "off day" will be Sunday this week - so I've got 3 more days to make a good impression on my weight loss

Classes went great yesterday! The schools were fabulous and Curves was killer! Attendance is back up after the holidays, so it makes the classes so much more fun to have more people there. We're also talking about starting up the Saturday morning classes again which is killer - I could totally use the extra workout (since I'm lazy on Saturday mornings now) and the extra money...that was $100 a month from just those classes

My foot is doing okay today - had it wrapped during all my classes yesterday and iced it last night. It was feeling okay this morning so I don't have it wrapped, but I brought my wrap to ice it just in case. I've only got one class after work today, so I'll probably do some cycling at lunch (again) just to help with my burns.

In other news - SO happy tomorrow is payday! Its been a crazy long 2 weeks!! Now that the bike and the credit card are paid off - I've set up a new budget for myself to help get rid of all our other debt. I'm excited and hopefully it will work great! There's going to be a lot of saving going on, so won't exactly have excess money for luxury items - but we're used to working hard and paying off debt.

We can see the light at the end of the tunnel...we know we're close to being able to live the lifestyle we want! Now we just have to be a little patient, save a little money, and work a little harder to get there! I'm excited about it! Being debt free, with our killer credit (hubby's has improved SO much since we've been working hard, he's definitely in the mid to high 600s now - even with that stupid respossession on his credit!) Now he's starting to see the benefit to working our tails off as well. I am really proud of us and can't wait to see what the next few months bring! It will be nice to pay off my car too....Having the extra $350 a month NOT going to a car payment will be killer! haha!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

Holy cow I feel awesome today! But before I get to today's awesomeness, here's some stuff from yesterday. I rolled out my class at my first school and they had a great time! Then, I went off to my second school only to find the parking lot filled with news cameras, etc. I walk in to the after school program and the coordinator informed me that because the Governor decided to hold a press conference in the school, we had to cancel Zumba for the day (but we rescheduled for Friday)

So I didn't get the second class (and second workout) and went home to ice my foot since it was still bugging me. Hubby came home and we hung out for a little bit, then around 530 I layed down on the couch and just crashed out! I woke up around 7 again and was so groggy that I decided to just crawl into bed and pass out for the night. About 20 mins later, I was out and didn't wake up again until 2am, just to look at the clock and see how much more time I had left to sleep. In all - I think I slept for almost 10 hours last night and it REALLY helped me feel fabulous this morning! Its rare that I'll sleep that well (or that long!) during the work week!

Even with being a total lazy ass last night, I still got a 2700 calorie burn and went 7729 steps - so I'm happy about that! Today's burn is gonna be a huge one since I've got my 3 classes after work today and I might go and ride the recumbent bike on lunch in the gym at work (which I've found is a nice, relaxing break in the day)

Today after my fabulous sleep, I woke up to a nice 2lb drop on the scale (WAHOO!) which tells me that the eating plan we're on is working (and it wasn't just water I'd dropped before!) so I'm totally excited! Can't wait to see how much more I can lose before our off day this weekend (still not sure if its Saturday or Sunday) As I put in a prior blog, I'd love to make my total loss 7-8lbs before heading into the off day, well this morning I hit 6lbs lost...so I'm close! I think this is totally possible, especially with at least 3 days left!

My foot is still a little wonky though which isn't a good thing. I don't have it wrapped today, but I brought it along and plan on wrapping it before my classes this afternoon. I'd rather be safe than sorry. I've got all 3 of my classes today - and I'm really looking forward to it! It makes it easier that both schools love the program so much - I am just feeding off their energy!

Also, on a side note, its pajama day at work - which is making me feel totally lazy. I really feel like I want a nap even though I know I'm totally rested!! haha! I'm looking forward to this weekend! It should be totally fabulous! We've got a Packers game on Sunday that should be great and its payday on Friday! Woot!

Okay that's about enough rambling for me...I'm just an energetic ball of energy today! Can't wait for a fabulous day!!

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Alrighty - I got my 2012 blog posted here as well (I wrote it yesterday on Spark) - so now I'm all caught up on that. But I wanted to post a general "how are things going" blog as well.

Nutrition has been spot on all week and my weight is starting to come back down again. Breakfast this morning was egg whites with turkey sausage and mixed veggies - totally fabulous and really filling! I've lost all the water weight from our "off day" this weekend and have lost around 4lbs total since starting our new plan last week - not too shabby if I do say so myself! I'm loving this nutrition plan and I'm really hoping we both see good results on it. I'm thinking that this week and next are going to be the ones that truly will show if this is working or if I've just dropped water weight and won't drop anything else

I'd love to make my total loss around 7-8lbs before our next "off day" this coming weekend, so I'm definitely hopeful. But at the rate I've been dropping, another 3-4 pounds in 4-5 days isn't too unrealistic. Not sure if our "off day" will be on Saturday or Sunday...we're still trying to plan it out. Either way, measurements and stuff will be taken that morning, so I can track all my progress so far

Hubby has been doing great on his nutrition as well - he's down about 10lbs already! Its amazing how guys can just clean up their nutrition and they drop weight - he's not even working out regularly yet! EEP! Some part of me is kind of jealous about that! Silly women metabolisms!

Class went great last night - I'm thinking that the happy nutrition is definitely showing in my energy levels in class as well! I got a great burn in and felt fabulous after the hour of cardio. The only downside - my foot started bugging me again. I started feeling a little tweak during the second half of class, so I kept things lower impact and made it through it. I rested and took it easy last night. This morning, it still felt a little wonky - not super painful, but I know its there (if that makes any sense) - so I've got it wrapped again just to be safe. I can't afford to cut back on my classes, so I need to take care of it

Anyways - in other news, I'm trying to still figure out how to incorporate more strength training into my routine without exhausting myself. I'd thought that my strength plan a few weeks ago would be enough (with the squats, deads, bench, etc) - but it wasn't...I didn't even get sore (which made me totally mad!) SO what I've decided to do is convert my Kettlebell workouts into iTunes and drop them on my IPOD, bring my kettlebell to work (or just pick up another 10lb one) and do my 20 min kettlebell workouts here. I got more sweat and DOMS from my 20 min workout this past weekend than I've had in a long time, so I'd like to try to keep that up if I can. And if I cut down on the warm up and cool down, I should be able to fit the actual workout into my lunch break here

OH - and I'm reading a biography of a professional cyclist and its FABULOUS! BUT - now I want a spin bike! haha! Or at least to get my Tri-Bike up in running condition, but the weather is still crappy and my schedule isn't accomodating for daytime riding so I couldn't ride it outside anyways.

Okay, so I think that's it for me. Nutrition is going great, sleep is getting much better since I bought my new pillow last week (I love that thing!), foot is still wonky but not totally awful, want to ride my bike, got 2 brand new schools after work today (hope they go well!) and looking forward to the weekend....even though its only Tuesday! haha! It seems like this has been a long 2 weeks...I'm ready for payday again! :-D

Hey everyone! I hope that the first week of the new year treated you all well! After some thought, I've finally come up with some goals/resolutions for this next year. I did a good job last year with my goals, so now I want to expand on that and continue to grow as a person in 2012.

2011 was a great year for me - but there were some portions of it that were a little difficult. It was an eye-opening year for me to discover my strengths and weaknesses - and now I plan to take everything I learned about myself in 2011 and rock out 2012!

Without further ado, here's my goals for this next year. Note - none of them have anything exact (no numbers, weights, etc) - sometimes the best things you can learn aren't tangible, so I don't want to put limitations on my goals like that

1. Work on loving myself a little more each day

This past year, I had some periods where I was really unhappy with myself. My weight was up, holiday stress was everywhere and I was just grumpy. I turned this into negative talk towards myself which just stressed me out more (talk about a downward spiral, huh?) My self confidence went down the drain and it just wasn't a fun time.

I realized that this is something that I've done for a long time. No matter what size I was, I was always "fat" - even when I was less than 160lbs and wearing a size 4. Being a former victim of eating disorders, my brain is subject to lots of disordered thinking as well - so this is the year I'm going to work on improving that. Shame on me for calling myself things I'd NEVER say to another person. I need to learn to value myself a little more than that

Over the past week, I've gotten my nutrition in line, started sleeping better and started a gratitude journal - where I'll write my daily musings & then at least one thing I'm grateful for. I think this is a good first step in learning to be comfortable with myself. I'm already starting to feel better about myself so this one is off to a good start I think.

This is me today. I know what I weigh (you wouldn't believe me if I told you) and the size my clothes are (6-8 depending on the pants) and you know what - I'm proud of it.

2. Be a better person at the end of the year than I am now

This one is my constant - I do it every year. Whether its financially, emotionally, physically - doesn't matter...just be better. I want to be the best person, wife, friend, sister, trainer, Zumba instructor (this list can be endless) as I can be. As long as I'm better, change is happening. And as long as change is happening, I'm living my life :-)

3. Continue to develop a better relationship with food

To coincide with my "loving myself" resolution - I'm bringing this one back from last year. I've made a lot of progress on this one, but I've still got a long ways to go. I haven't tracked my food since October (since it was making me neurotic) - and I'm finally learning how to listen to myself, which is the lesson I had intended on learning last fall...it just took me a few months to get the hang of it. This one is a work in progress and I can't wait to see what I will learn this next year

4. I want to accomplish things I've never done before (once again - this one is a repeat from last year, but I think its a good one)

Fitness goals are hard for me - since I teach SO many classes a week, its hard for me to do any structured program on my own. So this one is going to remain open - I'll fill in the blanks as the year progresses. Now that the After School program is in full swing again - coordinating any other workouts is tricky. I snuck in a kettlebell workout on Saturday morning and felt awesome. I want to make sure that I take the time to continue to focus on my fitness goals as well, and not just the goals of my students

5. I want to make sure I make time for ME each week

Since my life is so crazy busy, this one is a big one for me this year. I think this will help me out in all aspects of my life (especially with resolution #1). Whether I'm reading a book, painting my nails or just being lazy on the couch - I need to make sure I'm taking time to ground myself each week, just so I don't go crazy. As I stated on a prior blog, I started a GoodReads account and I'm keeping track of each book I read this year. Since I read for fun, this is one of the best ways for me to keep my head on straight. I've already read 2 books this year so far and am starting #3 today

6. Finally donate my hair!

This one was a long time goal from last year. I've got a month or two before I can donate my hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths and I'm so excited! This is going to be a great experience! Its been over 2 years since I've dyed my hair, so this resolution has been a long time coming. It will be nice to finally accomplish this one!

Alrighty - I think that's it for me right now. That's a decent set of goals for this year and I'm excited to see how I work to accomplish these over the next year!

In other news, I got 3 new amazing pairs of earrings for the holidays! Since my ears are gauged, its hard for me to find super awesome jewelry - so when I do, I get super excited! All of these are handcarved and made of completely organic and natural materials! Super fabulous!

I got a black pair of wings that are made of horn:

I also got a pair of wing looking earrings made of horn, shell, sterling silver and colored gems. They are stunning and I totally love them! Silly me forgot to snap a picture of them - so for now, you all will have to just imagine them! haha!

The last pair of earrings are my hand carved bone earrings - they're called "rising phoenix" and I love them! I had fun with the camera earlier today, so thus all the fun editing on these pics!

Alrighty everyone - I think that's it for me! I hope you all have had a great first week of 2012!!

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Okay - so for some reason, I woke up totally wiped out this morning. We had friends over last night and I stayed up later than I normally do. Weight was up a little bit from eating out yesterday (but that was expected) but I just had zero energy this morning to fare a workout. The sky has been cloudy and overcast all day - so that might have influenced my want to be lazy today. Not sure if I'll get a workout in tonight or just continue to be a lazy brat :-P

Foot was better this morning and I haven't needed to wrap it all day! Yippee! Hubby and I were lazy around the house watching the NCIS marathon until around 11. We hit up Starbucks and I got a very nice Orange Blossom hot tea, then we went to GameStop and we picked up some games for the PS3. Haven't been able to play them yet - as we've been watching the playoff games most of the day (the Denver game is just insane!)

Stopped by the In-Law's house for a bit then headed off to Lowe's as we needed a few things for the house. We dropped off the hubby's car at Firestone for some new tires and then headed back home.

I've been pushing the fluids as much as possible today - without making me feel like a water balloon and it seems to be working. I've been keeping nutrition in line today and hopefully will see another drop before tomorrow. I got 3 new pairs of earrings for the holidays (all hand carved and totally awesome - one bone, one horn and one shell pair!) so I'm trying to decide which one to wear tomorrow :-P

I took some progress pics this morning and really wasn't upset with them at all - which is awesome since I'm up in weight due to eating out yesterday. I'm looking tighter, stronger and denser than before. I definitely don't look like I weigh as much as I do which is fabulous! I'm going to take official measurements & pics again on Saturday morning and see how many changes my body has made in the past 2 weeks.

I'm definitely feeling better, more energetic, tighter and more confident. Clothes are starting to fit well again and things are going really well! Classes are going awesome too! Lots of good things going on! I've got some delightful DOMS from my kettlebell workout yesterday in my inner thighs - so that could also be contributing to the little jump on the scale too.

Either way - looking forward to lots of good things to come this next week! Trying to plan out food to prep for meals so we can pack lunches and stuff. Got some steaks marinating in a nice teriyaki sauce right now for dinner...totally looking forward to that! Yum! haha!

Saturday, January 7, 2012

So today was an "off day" from our new nutrition plan! So far, I'm down about 4lbs already and hubby is down about 8lbs already! Wahoo! Woke up this morning and my foot was feeling okay - so I fared a workout this morning before the hubby woke up.

I wanted to do my Jillian "front" workout, but couldn't find the DVD - so ended up with a kettlebell workout instead. I knocked out the "butt and hips" workout (though it was more of a total body as it involved rows and triceps too) It totally whooped my butt! It felt great! Got the whole thing done in 26 minutes and it felt great. I thought it would be a good idea to start out my "off" day from nutrition with a workout - as it helped motivate me to stay more in line over the course of the day (and I was right)

We went to Twisters for breakfast and got burritos (yum!) Then we ran some errands around town and I picked up God of War for the playstation. Met some friends for lunch at Buffalo Wild Wings and ate some nachos and a sandwich. After bumming around town for a bit - we all came back home to watch the Saints/Lions playoff game and they can all geek out on the computers. There's currently 4 computers set up in the living room! Woot!

On the way home, the boys picked up Dairy Queen blizzards as a treat for us all - and now I'm so full I can't imagine eating any more tonight. I'm starting to down water to help counter all the sodium I've eaten today and hopefully I'll be able to drop the water weight tomorrow and get back on the losing streak by Monday.

Planning another workout tomorrow - not sure if it will be a Jillian or another Kettlebell (or if I feel ambitious I'll do one in the morning and one in the evening).

In other news, I bought myself a new pillow a few days ago (one of those micro-bead cloud pillows) and I instantly started sleeping better. I think that was one of the big reasons I haven't been sleeping well. Looking forward to some great sleep and this next week on our program

Thursday, January 5, 2012

So yesterday was an awesome day! I got my check from last quarter at the after school program, so now we can pay off my credit card (completely!) Wahoo!!!

I got a phone call from the coordinator of the After School program yesterday, and since the first semester of the year went SO well - she's already made me the offer to come back again next year! Wahoo!!! I am so excited!! I think that's a testament to all my hard work that she already wants me back before I've started all my new schools!

Speaking of new schools, I started 2 brand new ones yesterday - and I'll admit, I was apprehensive. Starting a new school there's always the risk that they won't be as excited about the program as you'd like them to be. However, they all LOVED it! It went beautifully!! I'm really hoping every school continues to go so well - I've got one today and then pick up the other 2 on Tuesdays starting next week.

I'm thinking that Wednesdays won't be so hard now that I have 2 classes that I really enjoy plus Curves. Yesterday felt effortless (even though I was physically tired by the end of the day) Total calorie burn for yesterday was 3,294 with 14,500 steps taken (woot!) and 2 hours 43 minutes of total activity time. Definitely feels awesome to get moving again!

There is one thing that is causing me some concern though. Yesterday in my first class, one of my 14,500 steps didn't land correctly - and I've had a lingering pain in the top of my left foot. Its not muscular, and I'm worried about the potential of a stress fracture. I only have one class today after work and then I'm off until Monday from classes...so I'm going to try to wrap and rest my foot to see if that helps improve it. I can walk on it (and I jogged a little last night to see what would happen) - and the pain isn't severe, but its there...so there's cause for concern. Hopefully its nothing, but I have to be careful with it.

Nutrition has been in line since Monday and I'm feeling SO good right now. I'm down a total of 3.4lbs this morning (would have been higher, but I slept terribly last night so I didn't get the overnight stress & water release that I usually do) Looking forward to a nap after work today to make up for my crappy sleep. Hopefully I'll continue to see these great numbers over the next few weeks. We're planning an "off diet" day (I refuse to use the words cheat since that provides a negative connotation) - looking forward to relaxing a little, but I'm also looking forward to getting back in line. After only 4 days I'm already feeling better about myself and I want to keep up that trend!

In other news, as mentioned before - I'm keeping track of my reading again this year. I finished up an AMAZING book last night and now I'm anxious for the next one in the series to come out later this year! I've read everything by this author and I LOVE everything she writes! Such incredible stories!! I can't believe I've read 2 whole books in 4 days! EEP! Gotta love good books! I'm starting another series today - I've read the first 3 and the new one came out last month...its been so long since I've read them (like 4 years!) that I figured I'd re-read the whole series! Couldn't hurt!

Things are starting to pick back up again - I hit a downpoint late last year (probably due to crappy confidence from crappy eating) but I'm noticing positive changes occurring now. My excitement for things is starting to pick up again and I couldn't be more thrilled!

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Okay - so before I can look ahead to 2012 and all the excitement that comes with that, I need to take a step back and review everything I did in 2011. Overall, 2011 was a difficult year. Lots of adaptation, hard work and dedication - but the payoff was really worth it.

I've been struggling a little with weight, self image, etc the past few weeks (gotta love holiday weight to make one feel bleah) - so this blog might not be as uplifting or exciting as my others. It also might not be a true testament to everything I've accomplished this year - but at least its a start. Even though I'm not where I want to be physically, I have got to give myself credit where its due - I worked my ass off this year, and I've got a lot to show for it

So how did I do? Well, here's my 2011 Resolutions and my "Recap" of how it all went:

My First Resolution was: I want to be HEALTHIER at the end of 2011 than I was in 2010 - whether this means weight loss, inches lost, muscle gain, more sleep - it doesn't matter, just healthier!!

Not as much progress as I wanted, but this year has truly been a learning experience for me in lots of ways. My weight is still up a little bit from the holidays and measurements are up to, but I'm thinking I'm building muscle considering my LBM assessments have gone up by about 7 pounds (meaning I've put on about 7 pounds of muscle in the past few months). I am strong enough to lead multiple fitness classes a day and my body seems strong (even if it is a little flabby after the holidays).

Once my weight settles down, I drop some water, etc I'll take progress photos and see where the 7lbs of muscle got me. I'm currently back on the weight loss bandwagon and hopefully will have a few good weeks of progress in the future. So much more updates on THAT resolution in the weeks to come - just want to get the holiday squish off before I walk around the house in a bikini for pics :-)

On to resolution #2, which was: I want to accomplish things I've never done before (such as a full unassisted pull up, run a 5K in less than 30 mins, etc)

In February, I went straight vegan for 4 weeks - which is something I NEVER thought I could do!!! It was a truly amazing experience and the stuff I learned is just incredible! That experience can never have been learned via books or research. As far as fitness goes, I am now able to successfully hold the Crane yoga position - which is AHH-some!!!

I didn't get the sub-30 5K this year, but I did run a race in October with some friends! Despite being sick with a nasty respiratory bug, I managed to finish with a PR which was awesome!!

I signed up to teach my first Zumbathon songs this year as well. Though it was scary, I think I did alright! Here's some pics from that as well!

I also started tracking my running mileage this year - which was really great for tracking progress over the months. The mileage wasn't as high as I wanted it to be, but its still the most I've ever ran in my life. So here's all that:

Total Miles Ran in 2011: 132.2 Miles Total Calories Burned "Running From My Issues": 19,860 Calories GONE

Its hard for me to come up with fitness goals when I'm so busy with my classes, but I'm going to do the best I can. I think in 2012 I'm going to change my outlook. Instead of running from my issues, I'm going to be running TOWARDS something. I am not sure exactly what that something is - I guess I'll figure it out along the way.

Resolution #3: I want to develop a healthier relationship with food. This one has (and probably always will be) a work in progress. The Vegan Investigation showed me that my body responds very well to high carb, lower fat/protein diets. When I started re-integrating animal products back into my diet again, I really REALLY struggled. I had digestive/tummy issues for months and eventually got so fed up, I tried to go vegan full time. Well, that didn't work out so well. Living with a carnivore made that very difficult. So now I'm lean proteins, veggies, beans, etc and it seems to be working well.

After months of struggling with my food, I determined that I need to learn to trust myself some more (we all remember THAT super long blog). I decided to stop tracking my food starting in early October. This had mixed results, I gained some weight initially (on vacations and such) but after a while my weight balanced out. I liked not obsessing over calories - it made me feel a little more natural again.

Once the holidays hit, weight started to creep up again and now I'm trying to recover from it. Clothes are a little tighter and because of that, I've been struggling with how well did I *really* do with this resolution. I maintained my weight during stressful times without counting calories. Weight only went up when holiday treats were sneaked in. I can't say this one's a total failure, but it will continue to be a work in progress for the next year.

Resolution #4: I want to grow my hair out and donate it to Locks of Love. I have decided to go with the donation program through Pantene - but it goes to the same cause - creating wigs for cancer patients. My hair wasn't quite long enough for me to complete this goal in 2011 - but I'm still sticking with it. I got my hair measured by a stylist in early December (because I knew I was getting close) and she said to wait a few more months. In February or March, I can go back in and complete this resolution, which is going to be awesome. I never thought that over 2 years of not dying my hair could have so much of an impact on me - but its really been an amazing experience! Its forced me to become more comfortable and confident with who I am as a person. I've also inspired a few other friends to cut their hair and donate to the same cause - I think we'll have a "cutting & dying party" in a few weeks...should be super awesome!!

Resolution #5: I always have a goal to be a better person than I was at the beginning of the year - whether that means making progress emotionally, physically, financially or mentally, I just want to continue to develop as a person. Becoming stagnant doesn't help at all.

This one is a resolution I have every year - and every year I manage to succeed in accomplishing this one. Emotionally & Mentally are kind of the same, so I'm putting those together - I'm working on a lot of different things. I've noticed that my self esteem is directly linked to how I feel physically. When I overeat & feel like a cow - my self esteem goes down the crapper. When I treat my body well, I feel amazing - which radiates into all aspects of my life.

I continued my independent personal training and Zumba classes. Through lots of transition, I continue to teach at Curves (which was officially sold, so we're staying open) and single-handedly coordinate the After School program for my city while still maintaining a full time day job. I've successfully made it halfway through the year and getting ready to start my new classes tomorrow. I've gotta be proud of this. Even though my weight isn't quite where I want it - I need to be proud of everything I've accomplished with my professional life this year.

Professional accomplishments aside, I tried to keep my brain busy as much as possible this year. I attended continuing education classes for Zumba and my PT Cert throughout the year. Since I'm a total book nerd, I read as many books as possible (totalling 35 last year....I kept a list) and think that really helped me maintain my sanity during the crazy After School program days. There's something to be said for reading a book every week and a half-ish throughout one of the busiest/stressful years of our lives. Since I enjoyed my tracking so much, I'll be keeping track of my reading throughout 2012 again and see just how many books I can knock out this year as well (Its only January 3rd and I've already finished 1 book this year and working on #2) I created a goodreads account so I'll be using that for sure.

Financially this year was a huge success. This past year, I've paid off 2 store credit cards (Sears for our treadmill & Zales), our motorcycle and we're getting ready to pay off my credit card in the next few weeks. The bike was over $5000 paid and now its completely ours, the store cards were each around $1300 and my credit card is almost $10,000 that will be gone thanks to our hard work and dedication. Our goal to be Debt-Free by Spring/Summer 2012 is well on its way. The hubby is working to pay off his credit card, mine is getting paid off soon and all I have left is $8,000 on my car....that's IT!!! With the exception of the mortgage (which doesn't count) we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel! Go us!

We've worked really hard this year and hopefully set ourselves up financially for a kick ass 2012! I'm still working on coming up with my goals/resolutions for 2012, but you can bet that they're going to be good ones!!

So 2012 is here and 2011 totally flew by! I'm in the process of gathering up all my pics, thoughts, musings etc and combining them into my "what the hell did I do in 2011" blog. Its taking some time, but its coming together.

Like last year, I'm keeping track of all the books I read. My 2011 list actually gave me a good sense of accomplishment at the end of the year and I'm looking forward to everything I want to read in the next few months. Signed up for a goodreads account so I can keep track of everything. If you're on there, friend me!

Completed my CPR re-cert over the holiday break, so just waiting for that confirmation to arrive so I can mail out my NCSF renewal information.

Today is my first day back at work after my fabulous time off. It was SO hard to get up this morning. However, have been back on the diet train since yesterday - so hopefully some water weight will fall off soon! After School classes start up again tomorrow (they're on an In-service day today) so I can rest & relax after work today, which will be nice. Going to curl up on the couch with my book...I'm loving the one I'm reading now!

I think that's about it. I'm going to keep track of my mileage again in 2012 - but this year, I don't think I'll be running from my issues. That didn't work out so hot. I think this year, I'll be running towards something....I guess I know what that is when I get there!

About Me

I am also an avid reader who always has her Nook, Kindle or physical book with her. I have an amazing husband, a fabulous step son, a loving yet spoiled cat & a happy life. I couldn't really ask for anything more than this!

I am always willing to try something new. I love working out and I will always try to find a new and exciting challenge to push my body to the next level! I'm discovering a love for adventures that make me feel alive & incredible and I can't wait to share that with the rest of the world!

Disclaimer

Hillary is NOT a medical doctor and takes no responsibility in the use or misuse of any of her ramblings on this or any other form of media. You are big kids! Think for yourself! All the information in this blog is offered as-is, for informational purposes ONLY! Much of the information here, although medically referenced, exists outside the realm of conventional, accepted medial practice. The user of this information assumes all risks for its use or misuse. In no event shall the writer of this blog or any other person or entity involved in the production of this information be held liable for any damages stemming from the use or misuse of this information. Your continued reading of this blog indicates your acceptance of these terms & conditions.